Smoke and gas ejector for ornance.



No. 759,803. PATBNTED MAY 1o, 1904. A. BOUCHER an T. J. MOCLOSKBY. SMQKE AND GAS EJBGTOR POR ORDNANGB.

APPLICATION IILBD FEB. 8, 1904.

No MODEL. v ..H-W

fz? El? llNrr-nn Sterns PATENT kiuicn.

ALEXANDER BoUcHER AND-THOMAS JoHN MCcLosKnY, or New YURK, N.

v SMOKE AND ensneuecros Fos ORDNANCE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 759,803, dated May 10, 1904.

` Application ined february 3,1904. serial No. 192,512. er@ moan.)

To all whomz' may concern.'

Be it known that we, ALEXANDER BOUCHER, whose residence and post-otlice address is 178 DeKalb avenue, and '.llHoMAs JOHN MoCLos- KEY, whose residence and post-oilice address is 420 Halsey street, Brooklyn, county of Kings, State ot' New York, citizens ot' the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Smoke and Gas Ejectors tor Ordnance, fully described and represented in the following specilication and the accompanyingdrawings, forminga part ot' the same.

It is well known that when heavy guns are tired and the breech opened soon afterward -to insert a new charge the smoke and gases generated by the explosion escape-from the breech-opening and cause great injury to the gun crew by their ignition or by their poisonous character. This is especially the case with large guns on shipboard, as such guns are often tired while the ship is in motion and with the muzzle pointed to the bow ot the vessel, so that the movement forces a strong draft into the bore ot' the gun when the charge is not act-ually escaping. The evils which result from such escape of gases and smoke are telt most severely with turret-guns, as the crew o? such guns are confined in a small space, where there is but little opportunity for ventilation or for avoiding the breech of the gun when the breech-block is opened, and very serious injury `has often been suffered by such turret crews from such cause. It has heretofore been attempted to prevent such discharge of smoke and gases from the gun-breech by operating upon the bore ot -the gun at the breech; but the present invention wholly avoids the necessity ot' any breech attachments, as it operates at the muzzle of the gun.

The invention consists of a fixture attached to the muzzle of a gun and supplied with fluid under pressure, the iixture discharging a jet or jets of iuid directed forwardly from the muzzle by the fixture around the axis of the gun, so as to produce a strong forwardcurrent from the mouth of the borefwhich sucks the contents of .the bore therefrom. This appliance operates by the same llaw as has long been used in the construction otl ejectors ot various kinds-f-nan1ely, the law that a forwardly-moving current of fluid tends` to carry with it any body ot fluid adjacent thereto.

The nature and operation ot' the invention will be understood by reference tothe annexed` drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of an eight* inch gun, drawn upon a small scale, with the breech-block partly retracted and the fluid jet operating at the mouth ot' the gun to discharge the contents of the bore forwardly. Fig. 2 is aside view ot' the muzzle with the jet-fixture in section at the upper edge ot' thc.

same. Fig. 3 is a t'ront view of the muzzle with the jet-fixture. Fig. 4 is a side View ot' the base-plate for the sectional jet-fixture, and Fig. 5 is an edge view ot' the same'. Fig. 6 shows the muzzle of the gun in section with a jet-fixture movableinto and out of the muzzle. Fig. 7 is a longitudinal section, upon a larger scale, of the chambercd block a shown in llig. 6; and Fig. 8 shows the front end ot' such chambered block.

a designates the body ot' the gun, il the bore, and c the breech-block. An annular metallic .shell (l is shown surrounding the'gun-muzzle and formed with an annular chamber which is open at the forward edge in a narrow slit A which forms a nozzle e, inclined to the axis ot' the bore to project an annular jet yforward ,in

conical shape, as indicated by the lineairl in Fig. 2. The annular shell is provided with an inlet g to supply the chamber and with a pipe L, connected to a flexible hose fzf, which is able to bend freely when the gun recoils.

A cock j is shown in the pipe It to set the jet form the body of the chamber and the outer lip ot the nozzle. The outer ring is in pracll tice divided to apply it to the inner ring, and

= the lugs are securedv thereto by screwsm, and.

daring muzzle, as shown in Fig. 2 of the iiux of cool air not only relieves the gun crew drawings, to make such base-ring in halves, and such a base-ring is shown in side view in Fig. 4 and in edge view in Fig. 5. with bosses r projected from it, upon which the vhaltsections of the ringl can be secured'by the screws indicated at s in Fig. 5.

Figs. 6, 7, and 8 show a construction by which the jet-fixture may be operated within the muzzle of the gun immediately after iiring. The fixture consists of a chambered block u, connected by a pipe It', with a hollow journal'l.2 mounted. in a bearing u2 and provided with a handle fv, by which the fixture can be moved in and out of the muzzle, as indicatedbythe dotted'lines u". The hollow journal can be supplied with fluid under pressure by any kind of swiveling joint, such as are often used for a movable connection. The block u has a circular series of jetsapertures e', adapted to throw jets e2 forward within the muzzle, as shown in Fig. 6, thus producing a forward movement of the smoke and gases in the bore. vThe rear end of the block is pointed to 'facilitate the movement of the gases past the same. A sing e jet propelled forward in the muzzle of the gun would 'obviously `produce'the same eliect, but could not be so readily supportedv by a movable pipe as the block shown, which is connected with the pipe by a central aperture and can readily be furnished with jet-openings surrounding th center. A

Heavy ordnance is often tired with great rapidity, and it is well known that under such conditions the poisonous and explosive gases escape from the breech of the gun as soon as the gas-check is loosened. By operating the.

jetdixture before loosening the gas-check a forward movement is initiated in the bore, so

that as soon as the gascheck is loosened and.

the movement of the breech-block is commenced air begins to enter at the crevices and discharges the contents of the borebet'ore the breeclrblock is fully opened. Such infrom injury, but serves to cool the bore of the gun materially.

In modern warships it is common to supply water under pressure for washing out the bore of the gun at 1ntervals,.and.no special equipment is required to operate the jct-lixture, as asimple connection of the pipe 'i to be practiced, as both produce the same effect upon the bore oi the gun.

It is immaterial whether the jet bedis? charged from an annular nozzle or from a series of pipes or jet-apertures', as the effect is the same, and the inventfon is not, therefore, limited to any particular construction or inclination of the jet-nozzle.

. In Fig. l the gases (indicated by the shading) are shown already cleaned from the combustion-chamber of the gun, the current of air entering at the breech being indicated by arrows t. e

Having thus set forth the nature of the in vention, what is claimed herein is- 1. The means for drawing the smoke and gases from a gun-bore, which consists of a jet directed forwardly at the muzzle to produce a partial vacuum Within the bore.

2. The combination, with a gun, of a jetxture attached to the muzzle, and means for supplying iuid under pressure thereto, operated to produce a partial vacuum within thc gun-bore.

3. The combination, with a gun, of an annular jet-iixture attached to the muzzle, and means for supplying AHuid under pressure thereto, the whole operated to produce a forwardiy-dir'ected jet around the' muzzle of the gum to draw the smoke and gases from the ore.

comprising the annular base-plate and the annular cover-plate secured together with intermediate chamber, and narrow aperture at'uhe side, the chamber being provided with an inlet and pipe to supply iiuid under pressure. 5. A jet-fixture for the muzzleV of a 'gLUH, comprising the annular metallic sl1ell having annular chamber therein with narrow annular aperture at one side, and the shell being provided with an inlet for supplying Huid to the chamber.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses. Y

ALEXANDEREBUCHER. v THOMAS JOHN MCCLOSKEY. Witnesses: y

C. F. }oNN .aR,= THOMAS S1" CANE.

'4. A jet-lixture for `the muzzle of a gun, L

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